India Weeks 5 thru 7

It has been a wild few weeks here. First please pray for me, as I have been very sick for the last 3 days now. It seems that I found that special Mosquito that wanted to share Malaria with me. I am doing much better now, just very weak. Tuesday, I would have to say that I was the sickest I have ever been. 10 hours of shivering, severe pain throughout my body, and a 102 to 104 fever. Please pray that there are no long lasting effects to this and pray that my strength will return soon. Also pray that I am able to go to Andre Pradesh this coming Saturday. I am going to Andre Pradesh (Indian state just north of Tamil-Nadu The state I am in now) to shoot some video of some children in orphanages. That is a 5 hour journey to get there so this will be a very long day for me so I am praying my strength is back by then. Well, the theme for me since my last update is "what comfort zone". Obviously the last few days I have been sick in foreign place with a foreign illness, and the other non comfort zone event (s) all have to do in music in some way. The first came 3 weeks ago as Lynette came to me and said that it was her department's turn to lead the campus chapel and she would like me to Lead the worship. I explained to her that I play and not sing and could not lead. She said OK gather a band together from the student body and staff and you can pick the songs and as a team lead. Um… I have a lot more respect for worship leaders now. It was so very hard to pick the songs, then during practice having the guys look at me to teach the songs to them and figure out why it doesn't sound right. This was a learning experience for all of us I assure you. I was a nervous wreck that service, but God in his greatness used us and God and His people were blessed. My next musical adventure happened at a church that I was invited to go visit. One of the students, Chupa, asked me to "attend" the service with him. Get this… In the rickshaw on the way there, he informs me that we are going to sing a song together and I was going to sing the tenor part. We get there and it is an all Nagaland church Body (Nagaland is a north eastern state in India), so aside the fact that I am white, I really stuck out in this place. We get there and I flip open the hand out and Chupa's and my name are in the program. Chupa grabs a hymnal and say turn to hymn 345. I wish I could remember the name of the song because that was the first song I have ever sung in front of a congregation aside from being in a choir. We get up there and he grabs his guitar and I do my best to follow him and sing this song I am seeing for the first time. Also I look down and the Mic that I was holding and it was visibly shaking. I only pray that my voice was not doing the same. The pictures are from outside the church. Oh what a day that was! My next challenge was the biggest request so far, as Malini asked me to lead the Campus's Saturday morning Fasting and Prayer Service. This is a 5 hour service of worship and prayer. It took me many hours to pick the songs, then I spent 3 hours teaching Barnabas the 7 songs that I picked. He will be the one vocally leading the service. Also we had a singing group from Malini's office that would be joining us and we had a song book and our voices to practice with. So for 2 hours and 3 practices we all did our best to learn the songs as I tried to sing the songs to the team and they did their best to follow. Over the course of 2 days I have never sung so much in preparation for a service. The service came and we were all nervous and scared and we just prayed that God's spirit would camp in that place and asked him to take control of the service. All I can say is He was there and in control. I have never experienced God like I did that day when I was playing the keyboards at New Life (my home church in USA). His spirit was there and you could feel his presence and his love. We were all in tears and were moved by what was happening in our midst. Many that I have been working with that attended the service said that the intensity level of that fasting and prayer service was much more than they were expecting. Praise Jesus’ Name! I keep learning that when I am out of my comfort zone, is when I grow. I also keep learning in music, that when you are frustrated, with how things may be going preparing for a service and feeling inadequate to serve, give control to Him and you will never go wrong. Over the last few weeks I have played in 3 other services just playing and following someone else's lead. I am really enjoying serving and being used by God. As I have been typing this Paul, New Calvary's worship leader texted me on my cell asking me to play at tonight’s Maundy Thursday service so the music continues. I played in my first full cricket game for the first time. The game is actually fun when played (not so much watching). It is similar to baseball except there are 2 batters and the pitcher is called a bowler. Just like in baseball I am a ground ball hitter, which is bad in baseball, but a good thing in cricket. The funny thing is, every time I hit the ball people laughed at me because I dropped the bat, like you do in baseball, as I ran for the other wicket. I did this 3 times at 3 at bats. They said I did very well, and our team won. I scored 3 or 6 runs that game (not really sure which). Um.... What else, well I have a complaint about the weather! God when I prayed for cooler weather and wishing I could see snow I was talking about here. 20.4 inches!!!!! Blizzard!!!!! Are you kidding me!!!!! I am probably Columbus's biggest Snow Nut and the year God Calls me to India is the year it snows the mother load. How does that happen??? We did get rain here however for the first time since I have come, due to a tropical storm that was in the Indian Ocean. Thunder, Lightning and sideways rain. Me and my neighbor went up to the roof during the heaviest rain and acted like idiots for a few hours. (may be contributing to my sickness now), but it was fun and a major stress reliever as I was in the middle of planning the fasting and prayer service. Outside of the sickness it has really been a great 3 weeks as I have gotten closer to God and He has revealed a little more of Himself to me. Palm Sunday was really neat, because the church actually gave everyone palm leaves. They said that it was a church tradition to take the palms each year and weave the palms, into a cross. Then they would take the crosses home and hang it somewhere as a reminder through the year about what Christ did for us on Calvary. I thought this was a great concept, I need to get me one, as I did not get the chance to get one, because I was playing keys for the service. One more story then I will quit for this update. We work Saturdays here except the second Saturday of the month, and I spent the day with Josh on our day off. It was a great day starting with... Drum roll please.... for all you previous team India'rs (or something), a return trip to the Abirami Mega Mall. For those of you who don’t know the 2005 Team India rocked out the night with a concert at the Mall. I am sure there were at least a million or so people there head banging and going nuts with the music we played…. Maybe not, but we can all remember the wise words from Claude Davis that night, as he screamed into the mic, “Thank you Chennai” as we finished our concert under the 50 foot statue of the Egyptian Goddess Isis. What a night. Ok, back to my day with Josh. We had some very weird tasting pizza, which was still good, then we saw the movie 10000Bc. The theater size will surprise those of you that have been to the mall, because you will remember this is not a very large mall. The seating in the theater was 5000. It was like stepping into Vet's Memorial. Wow, and decent movie to boot. After that we went to his home and I ran around with him as he did his honey-do-list. It was not your average grocery store run however. We went to 3 small places/vendors for all the food items and then went to the city's vegetable market. This was a very cool place. It was all under grass huts and every verity of vegetable that you can imagine. We finished off the day with another movie at his place and his wife cooked dinner. It was a great day. I am sure I am missing something, but I will stop here. Major prayer request. I mentioned about the persecution in Orissa a month ago, HBI was informed by the people that have been attacking the missionaries that they are going to burn there Orissa churches during the Easter services this weekend. Please pray for protection for the missionaries and Gods believers that are there. I pray that everyone at home has a safe and great Easter. I miss you all, and may God be with you all!

-Bob